Zhejiang free trade zone keeps chugging on

Similar yet differentiated responsibilities

Currently, the four areas in Zhejiang FTZ are tasked with different development goals.

Zhoushan area has been forming a complete industrial chain for the oil and gas industry. Ningbo area focuses on the development of oil and gas, new materials, international shipping, global supply chains, foreign trade and intelligent manufacturing.

Hangzhou area has been accelerating the development of the digital economy, and Jinhua-Yiwu area has been building up a new international trade center.

Take Hangzhou area, for example. It has attracted 97 projects with a combined investment of 75.4 billion yuan ($11.61 billion) over the past year, including six projects invested by Global Fortune 500 companies.

The new factory of Hangzhou Panasonic (Comprehensive Bonded Zone) Co Ltd was the first Global Fortune 500 project to break ground in Hangzhou area, with construction beginning in June this year.

With a total investment of 300 million yuan, the 2-hectare smart home appliance manufacturing factory is expected to be put into operation in April next year and generate nearly 8 billion yuan in production value in five years.

It is the attractive preferential policies and favorable business environment in Hangzhou area that have attracted so much investment.

The clustering of market entities has also laid a foundation for more preferential policies becoming available.

Given that more companies involved in the biomedical industry have settled in the area, Hangzhou published measures in July to support the industry in pharmaceutical research and development, as well as overseas sales, which will be first implemented in Hangzhou area.

"Ningbo area, since its launch, has witnessed the landing of 35 major projects, with a total investment of 23.58 billion yuan, and we have worked around the clock to secure our position in project introduction and facilitation," said Zhang Yan, director of the Office of Free Trade Zone in Ningbo.

By the end of August, 66 major projects have been put into use in Ningbo area of the China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

The projects were mainly involved in sectors like shipping logistics, smart warehousing, cross-border e-commerce, digital platforms and financial services.